Storm on Christiania

by just in case you didnt know either Wed Jul 30, 2003 11:25

About 1,000 people live in Christiania on a permanent basis. Some of them manufacture bicycles, make small furnaces, live in houses they have designed themselves and enjoy life in one of Copenhagen's most beautiful residential areas. There are also those who simply come to have a look for themselves or to buy and sell hash on Pusher Street.

Christiania is a tourist attraction visited by as many as 500,000 people annually. There are restaurants, coffee bars, shops and music venues, which attract people from all over Denmark. Liberal Jutlanders and tourists alike love Christiania for its positive, anarchistic spirit.
Some feel intimidated by the alternative community, because that same anarchistic spirit also seems to attract society's more seedier elements. Others are provoked by the fact, that the Christianites live almost rent-free in a green area of the city in specially designed houses - and to top things off, they don't even pay taxes like the rest of us.

Christiania was founded in 1971 by hippies as part of the Danish counter-culture movement. The area (formerly home to military barracks) had at the time recently been vacated by the Danish army. A motley crew of hippies, artists, political activists and society's misfits moved in and settled down - thus creating a controversial point of conflict, that to this day can still cause quite a stir among especially law-and-order politicians.
Most Danes, however, couldn't care less as long as Christiania keeps it's problems with bikers, drugs or the police to herself. After all, they seem to acknowledge, it's better to maintain the alternative community as just that - a refuge for the misfits and a loophole for freedom and creativity.

Warning: Christiania is not Tivoli! If you are easily offended or feel intimidated by large free-roaming dogs, drug peddlers 'doing their thing' in the open and people with a total disregard for 'Miss Manners' - you'd better keep out.
For the more easy-going Christiania holds quite a few pleasant surprises.

Brief summary of conflict at Christiania:

1971:
Free city founded by hippies.
1973:
Christiania is ensured status as a social experiment.
1975:
The Folketing (Danish parliament) decides that Christiania is to be cleared by April 1st, 1976.
1978:
Supreme Court rules that Christiania is to be cleared.
1979:
Ban imposed on heavy drugs.
1987:
Biker-gangs are finally thrown out.
1989:
The Folketing passes a law "regarding use of Christiania area", demanding that conditions be legalised. For example, all pubs were required to have a liquor licence.
1991:
Local community plan passed for Christiania.
1996:
Free city celebrates its 25th anniversary on September 26th, 1996.
Else Marie Brakchi

by VL - some leninist party Wed Jul 30, 2003 21:14

i was in christania last year, and watched 60-70 riot police tramp around the place in full gear in front of everyone. Christiania must be one of the most successful autonomous zones, but like all such places it will eventually come into conflict with the state. This is the problem with autonomism, it does not provide a permanent solution. Am i right?

by Andrew Thu Jul 31, 2003 15:07

Your obviously right that short of a global revolution such autonomous spaces will always be contested by the state. But I'm not sure this tells us very much beyond the obvious. The same in fact can be said for on the street paper sales, every few years the gardai go through a phase of hassling sellers at the established places and establishing new sites is also often contested.

So if you belive that the creation of an autonomus space or a paper sale is the GOAL rather then a method your in for a disappointment.